In Depth

Liberalism’s Dilemma

By Marc Comtois | June 16, 2005 | Comments Off on Liberalism’s Dilemma

Andrew writes about Liberalism’s Dilemma at Tech Central Station.

Curious About History?

By Marc Comtois | June 15, 2005 | Comments Off on Curious About History?

I am hosting History Carnival #10 at Spinning Clio this week. The History Carnival is a bi-weekly roundup of blog posts that deal with history with the goal of giving the general public an idea of what historians and others are thinking about history and how they are applying it to contemporary matters. There is…

Governor Don Carcieri on NPR

By | June 14, 2005 | Comments Off on Governor Don Carcieri on NPR

Here is the link to an interview on National Public Radio with Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri where he talks about pressing state issues, including public pensions.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan: A Man of Principle?

By | June 14, 2005 | Comments Off on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan: A Man of Principle?

Articles here and here have raised fresh questions about U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s behavior in the oil-for-food program controversy. The first article notes: Investigators of the U.N. oil-for-food program said Tuesday they are “urgently reviewing” new information that suggests U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan may have known more than he revealed about a contract that was…

Extending/Expanding the Patriot Act

By | June 14, 2005 | Comments Off on Extending/Expanding the Patriot Act

We are at war. We are a land of liberty. We have a federal government whose appetite for meddling seems to be growing. Two recent news articles have raised questions about the extension of the Patriot Act: Patriot Act Push Angers Some on Right: A Senate panel vote riles conservatives concerned about the reach of…

Why the Big Three Auto Companies Could Easily Fail

By | June 13, 2005 |

An earlier posting entitled Outrageous Employee Compensation Liabilities Continue to Haunt General Motors; Will American Taxpayers End Up Paying the Bill? highlighted pension and healthcare cost issues that have made American auto makers like General Motors cost the high cost producer in a competitive global marketplace. These points and the structural problems that sustain them…

For a Chuckle…

By | June 13, 2005 | Comments Off on For a Chuckle…

ScrappleFace does it like no one else. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, we forget to do what ScrappleFace does – poke fun at political actors. Here are two great recent examples: GOP Senators Shocked: Judge Brown is Black: Republican Senators, who yesterday confirmed President Bush’s appointment of Judge Janice Rogers Brown to the…

Voter Initiative

By Marc Comtois | June 13, 2005 | Comments Off on Voter Initiative

I was at the Gaspee Days parade over the weekend and was canvassed by a representative of Operation Clean Government who was looking for signatures supporting a Voter Initiative referendum question this November. I signed it, with some trepidation, but the proximate situation of the current state of Rhode Island politics won out over my…

Rhode Island Politics & Taxation, Part XIX: Another Stab at Killing Off Future Economic Growth

By | June 13, 2005 |

A new ProJo editorial comments on the plan to unionize babysitters in Rhode Island: …the Rhode Island General Assembly is roaring ahead with a very bad plan to unionize babysitters — and send the gigantic bill to the taxpayers… …The bill would create a new and very powerful special interest added to the one that…

Judiciary Under On the Seige

By Justin Katz | June 11, 2005 | Comments Off on Judiciary Under On the Seige

One can just about picture the commercial that RI Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams would release to correspond with his recent presentation to the RI Bar Association, “Killing Justice: The Judiciary Under Siege.” It would begin in black and white, with dark footage and creepy music: “Political pressure and agenda-driven criticism also fray the…